Buenos Aires in 3 Days

3 Days in Buenos Aires Travel Guide

Welcome to this three days’ guide to Buenos Aires. This magnificent city is chosen by millions of tourists year after year, making it one of the top destinations in the world. In here you will find all kinds of tips, maps, and useful travel information, so you don’t get lost in this big city and the great variety of activities that it can offer to you.

This guide has been developed
thanks to the contribution of many local experts who know the city’s best secrets, where
to stay, what to do and what to avoid. Buenos Aires is divided
into different very characteristic neighborhoods. On this guide, we will explore the most important ones
that you should most definitely visit, such as
Palermo, Recoleta, San Telmo, La Boca, and Downtown.

All maps provided in this guide are accessible in online mode through Google Maps, allowing easy navigation and directions all around the city.

Useful Information about Buenos Aires

Official Language: The Spanish Language is the official language. Time Zone: GMT – 3 hoursMetric System: Kilograms, centimeters and CelsiusWeather: Warmest month is February and coldest month is July.

Electricity: Sockets and plugs in Buenos Aires are completely different than in US, so you will need an adapter. Argentina uses 220Volt and 50 KHz with Plug Type I, as below:

Tipping: Tipping is
generally not expected in Argentina. If you want to provide a tip, then give a
10% in restaurants, round up in the taxi, and 10% to your tour guide.

Cost of
Living:

– Meal in an inexpensive restaurant: 7.5 USD

– Meal in a mid-range restaurant for two persons: 30 USD

– 0.33 liter of Water: 1 USD

– Local Transport (one-way ticket): 0.33 USD

– Cost of a bottle of Beer in a Bar: 2.22 USD

– Double room at an average hotel: 80 USD/night

Average
Internet Speed: 4.7 Mbps (around 60% slower than in US). The wifi
coverage is moderate and it is relatively easy to find a free wifi at busy
places.

Credit Cards: Visa and
Mastercard are the most commonly accepted credit cards. The small restaurants
and shops may not accept credit cards.
Sometimes you will be asked to show your passport when paying with a credit
card. Some other times you may be asked to pay a small surcharge for paying
with a credit card.

Visa Requirements: It depends on the country of your whether you should
get a Visa to enter Argentina. Please check https://www.visahq.com/ for more
information.

The Best Tours and Activities to Pre-Book Before Going to Buenos Aires

Here, we have compiled a list of the most interesting and
best-reviewed tours you can book before going to Buenos Aires. It includes
activities such as Milonga night out, sightseeing tours of Buenos Aires, Tour
to the River Plate and Boca Juniors Stadiums, Tigre Delta Boat trips and other.
Click on the links to discover more about the prices, read the reviews of
others and book anything that relates to your interests.

Top Tips for Traveling to Buenos Aires

#1: If
you decide to move around in a taxi, try to take those who have a sign
that reads “Radio Taxi,” since they
belong to a cab affiliate company and are
not independent drivers. Taking taxis in Buenos Aires is very safe when
compared to most South American cities, but still,
it’s a good idea to take this extra caution to avoid any kind of problem.

#2: Avoid taking the metro between 7 AM to 10 AM
and between 4 PM to 7 PM.
It gets really crowded to a point on which you may feel like you’re in some
kind of version of hell.

#3: If
you arrive at Ezeiza (EZE) / Ministro Pistarini International Airport, don’t take the taxis right outside its
doors. You will find dozens of drivers offering to take you to the city,
but they are not a good choice because they will find any possible way to charge you much more than what they say finally.
Some of them aren’t even real taxi drivers, but thieves
are looking to steal your stuff. Hire any of the official transports
that get you to the city (vans, buses, or official taxis). The airport is about 40 minutes away from the
city’s downtown, and the price of a regular service from the airport to any
part of the city is approximate $15,
while a taxi may be around $25.

#4: Public transport is overall pretty safe and
reliable within the city. All buses work 24/7 and usually don’t need to be
waited at for more than a few minutes. Metro closes at 10:30 PM at night. All
public transport is very cheap too when
compared to Europe or USA standards.

#5: Try to learn some basic Spanish: Lots
of porteños (a slang term for Buenos
Aires citizens) don’t speak fluent English, so it’s always a good idea to learn
a couple of basic words and questions in Spanish in case you need to use them.

#6: Try not to hang around downtown after
midnight: Buenos Aires has a very intense nightlife, but most of it goes on
in other neighborhoods (mostly Palermo)
and not at city center. If you hang
around downtown after 1 AM you will
probably not find a single soul in there.

#7: Avoid traveling
to Buenos Aires in summer: The weather gets extremely
hot during December, January and February. The combination of the heat and the humidity makes it really
unpleasant to walk and go around the city. Plus, in January all porteños get away from the city, and many places are closed for the entire
month. So do yourself a favor and go at
any other time of the year. Buenos Aires is best enjoyed during fall and
spring, but it’s not a bad idea to go during the winter either since it doesn’t get very
cold.

How to Get from the Airport to the Center of Buenos Aires

Ezeiza (EZE) / Ministro Pistarini International Airport is located 30 km (18 miles) from the center of the city. It’s crucial to be aware of the different possibilities for getting to the city center from the airport because there is no public transport making this ride.

There
are basically two recommended ways for going from the International Airport to
the heart of the city:

Get a Taxi: It
costs between $20 and $25 to get to the center
of the city. If you decide to go in a cab, it’s important to get an official cab and not go
with the independent drivers that are
waiting right outside the airport. Inside the airport,
you will find the official taxi companies’ counters. Go there and ask for a taxi.

Below you can see a picture of how the official taxi company counter looks like.

Get a Transfer Service: These are vans that take you to the city. They cost less than a taxi (around $15) and have a few predefined stops inside the city (Obelisk, Palermo, Recoleta, etc.). If one of those stops is near where you need to go, then this becomes a pretty good option. They usually depart every half an hour and take about 45 minutes to get to the Obelisk from the airport.

Below you can see how one of these Transfer Services counters looks like. Just go there and ask for prices and times of departures.

If you’d like to find lower prices, you have to head to Córdoba Avenue, within the Palermo neighborhood, where you will find lots of outlets. Most of these outlets are located right on Córdoba Avenue between the streets Lavalleja and Gurruchaga, which makes an extension of about 6 blocks full of outlets. On here you will find Levi’s, Bowen, Kevingston or Kosiuko outlets, among others.

Best Restaurants in Buenos Aires

Argentina
has one of the most interesting gastronomy scenarios of the world, mainly thanks to the fabulous worldwide recognized meat.

We strongly recommend going to a parrilla and taste an amazing asado
at least once, if not more. Another interesting Argentinian food you should
definitely try is empanadas. Finally, you may also want to try some pizza in
Buenos Aires, which is mainly famous due
to the enormous amount of cheese they put
into them.

Here
are some of our favorite dining places in Buenos Aires:

La Cabrera(5099 José Antonio Cabrera Street, Palermo, http://lacabrera.com.ar/en/ ):
The most famous parrilla in the whole
city. It can be a little pricey, and you will also find lots of tourists in
here, but it’s all worth it because you this is probably the best meat you will
ever eat in your life. You should try to make a reservation in advance because
it gets really crowded. It has a happy hour between 6:30 PM and 8 PM, on which
you have a 40% discount on everything; the only downside of this is that they
kick you out at 8 o’clock with no exception.

Pizzeria Guerrin (1368 Corrientes
Avenue, Downtown,http://www.pizzeriaguerrin.com): Right next to all the famous Corrientes Avenue there is
this mythic place with all its history. Make sure you like cheese because they put a lot of it to their
pizzas.

La
Casita de Tucumán (1507 Ecuador
Street, Recoleta,https://www.facebook.com/lacasitadetucuman/): Some of the best empanadas you can have in Buenos Aires in this little cozy place located in the neighborhood of Recoleta.

El Tejano (4416 Honduras Street, Palermo, https://ahumadoras.com/eltejanoba/): If you feel like trying something different than typical Argentinian
food, you may want to check out this Texan place. Ribs and chicken wings at
this place are without a doubt the best
you will find in the entire city. The place is really tiny, so reservation
beforehand is needed.

1st Day In Buenos Aires –
Itinerary

9:00

Arrival at Ezeiza (EZE) / Ministro Pistarini International
Airport, which is 30 km away from the
city center

9:30

Take an official airport taxi to the city center, Palermo or
Recoleta, which are our recommended
neighborhoods for your stay in Buenos
Aires.

Cost: 20€ Taxi

10:30

Arrival at the hotel. Accommodate yourself and rest for a little while before starting
your first day getting to know Buenos Aires!

11:30

We
recommend taking the Hop-on-Hop-Off Bus
during your first day in Buenos Aires, even if normally we’re not really fans
of this kind of coaches to be honest. The
thing is that Buenos Aires is a huge city, with several different neighborhoods
very different from one another, and distances are not very walkable sometimes.
We believe that taking the Hop-on-Hop-off Bus at your first day can give you a
first impression of all of the different neighborhoods
so that you make an idea. Some of the neighborhoods that you get to know while
riding on this bus are Monserrat, San
Telmo, La Boca, Puerto Madero, Retiro, Recoleta, Belgrano, and Palermo. If
you’re staying in Buenos Aires, there is no way you can get to know and see all
of these neighborhoods by yourself without taking a bus like this one, and that
is why we recommend it for your first day.

You can
also get off at any of its 33 stops, walk around, and then catch the next bus
30 minutes later. Take into account that on this guide we will be proposing
specific visits to Palermo, Recoleta, San Telmo and La Boca for the following
days, so maybe you can avoid getting off at those stops since you will get to know them later anyway. The bus ticket
includes an audio-guide so that you can hear some interesting facts about these
neighborhoods’ rich history. Tickets cost around 33€ per person, and you can get them in advance here.

Our
recommendation is to go from the hotel to the Obelisk so you can see Buenos
Aires most famous monument. At this
time of the day, you will also be able to
see how the heart of this city looks like during daytime, with thousands of people walking around. Then you can take
the Hop-on-Hop-off Bus from the
Obelisk and start your tour!

Cost: 33€ Hop-on-Hop-off Bus

16:00

After your first impression of Buenos Aires and all of
its different neighborhoods with the Hop-on-Hop-off Bus, we recommend getting
to know a bit more about the center of
the city and its historical parts.

You may start at the National Congress Palace; this is where Avenida de Mayo begins, which extends to Plaza de Mayo, one of the most iconic places in the city. At Plaza de Mayo you will also be able to see the Casa Rosada, which is the seat of the National Government. During this 2 km walk, you will be able to see all the most emblematic and historical places and buildings of Buenos Aires history. See ZoomTip 1.1 to know more about the importance of these sites.

After this intense and exhausting first day, go back to the hotel and rest for a
while before dinner. Remember that dinner in Buenos Aires begins at between 9
PM to 9:30 PM at least, and since we also have some plans for your first night,
we recommend that you use this time lapse before dinner to rest and recover
some energy for what’s coming later.

20:45

We suggest you go
to a parrilla for tasting that famous
Argentinian’s steak during your first night. As mentioned before, La Cabrera (5127 Cabrera St) is the one
we recommend the most. Other exciting
options are Don Julio (4691
Guatemala St) or El 22(1950 Carranza St).

Cost: 25€ approx. Parrilla Dinner

22:30

For finishing this incredible first day in Buenos Aires, we recommend you to go to some of the most emblematic tango places so you can listen to some great music and watch tango performances live at the same corners on which this musical style was created. The corner of San Juan and Boedo, within the Boedo neighborhood, is the most emblematic tango spot of Buenos Aires. You can also find other great tango places at the Abasto neighborhood, such as La Catedral (4006 Sarmiento St), or La Viruta (1366 Armenia St). La Catedral is a very old storehouse full of antiques that are now used as a sort of tango sanctuary. On the other hand, in La Viruta you will be able to dance and watch many other people dancing the tango for hours. After 2 AM, professional tango dancers come in, and it’s your turn to sit at a table and look at the professionals do what they do best.

1st Day in Buenos Aires – Map

Below
you will find the maps corresponding to all the different activities that we
recommend for your first day in Buenos Aires. They are accessible in Google
Maps format for you to easily use on your smartphone or tablet while you are in
Buenos Aires.

As you can see on the map, a significant part of the city is covered on your first day, mainly thanks to the hop-on-hop-off bus.

ZoomTip 1.1: Information on Buenos Aires emblematic and historical places that you will see during your first day

Obelisk

The obelisk is a historical monument considered as the icon of the city. It was built in 1936 for Buenos Aires 4th century anniversary.

National Congress Palace

This is the building on which the National Congress activities take place. Its construction began on 1897 and finished on 1906. Its main entrance is named “Entrada de Honor” and is located on Entre Ríos Avenue.

Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada

The Casa Rosada (Pink House) is where the presidential office is. Built in 1954, it is located in front of the historic Plaza de Mayo. It also holds the Governments Museum, which contains many different objects related to all presidents in Argentina’s history.

Plaza de Mayo

Most of the more important
moments in the history of Argentina happened at Plaza de Mayo. The city’s
founder, Juan de Garay, planted the symbol of justice here on 1580. Since then, Plaza de Mayo became the center of the citizens’ life, where the most severe acts and celebrations occurred.

Plaza de Mayo is where the famous Madres de Plaza de Mayo gathered every Thursday since April of 1977, with signs and pictures of their disappeared sons and daughters during the military coup that terrified the city and the entire country during that time.

2nd Day In Buenos Aires – Itinerary

9:00

Visit La Boca.

La Boca

The
most touristic part of La Boca is
the street Caminito, a pedestrian
street of only 100 meters. This little street is full of multi-colored small buildings which particularity resides on
the fact that they don’t have front doors.

Since
this is a very touristic area, all perpendicular streets are full of tango
dancers, restaurant, gift stores, etc., but they are all extremely expensive
when compared to the rest of the city, so we don’t recommend you to spend money
in there.

After
walking around Caminito and its
surroundings, we recommend visiting the Quinquela
Martin Museum, which holds one of the largest
collections of Argentinian art from the end of the 19th century
until nowadays. The museum is not very big, so a little bit more than 1 hour is
enough time for you to stay there. After the museum visit, you can walk around the shore of the river and go to La Bombonera, the mythic Boca Juniors stadium, which is one of
the most famous and particular football stadiums in the world. If you’re a
football fan, you can take a guided tour of
the Boca Juniors museum for the price of 10 €.

Cost: 10€ La Bombonera

12:30

Visit San Telmo.

San Telmo

After a
nice glimpse of La Boca neighborhood,
it’s time to discover the magic of one of its neighbors: San Telmo. We don’t recommend to go walking from La Boca to San Telmo because La Boca is
not an entirely secure neighborhood to walk around outside its main touristic
spots; just take a taxi to go to San
Telmo. Since the distance is pretty short, it will be cheap.

Once in
San Telmo, you can start in its central spot: Plaza Dorrego. This square is always full of life, with several
places to get something to eat, lots of musicians playing, etc. If you’re going
there on the weekend, you get to see the
fabulous San Telmo Market, where you’ll find all kinds of antiquities, toys, everyday Argentinian old tools, or almost
anything you can imagine. Actually, the market opens every day, but more than
half of it is closed during weekdays, so that’s why you get full enjoyment by
visiting it on a Saturday or a Sunday.

After
getting something to eat at Plaza
Dorrego or any of the beautiful San
Telmo streets, we recommend going to the Modern Arts Museum, located just a few blocks away from Plaza
Dorrego at 350 San Juan Avenue (See ZoomTip
2.1 for more information about Buenos Aires Modern Arts Museum). The cost
of the entrance to the museum is only 1.5€.

After
visiting the museum, we recommend taking
a short walk to Parque Lezama, which
is a gorgeous park that will make you
forget for a while that you’re in the middle of a metropolis and enjoy a little
nature instead.

Cost: 1.5€ Museum of Modern Arts Entrance

17:00

Go to Puerto Madero.

Puerto Madero during the night

After
your visit to San Telmo, we recommend
taking a 15-minute walk and get to Puerto Madero. This is the most modern part of the city, full of massive skyscrapers. The difference between San Telmo and Puerto Madero regarding
architecture is astonishing, considering they are only a few blocks away from
each other. Here you can enjoy a gorgeous sunset to finish this long day the perfect way. Also, take a walk through its quiet, modern streets. Buenos Aires is usually
very crowded, so you won’t find many roads as quiet and peaceful as the ones you see
at Puerto Madero.

19:30

Return to the hotel, get some rest and have
dinner. We recommend trying the famous
Argentinian empanadas at any of the empanadas places near your hotel (you’ll
find lots of them just walking a couple of blocks), or see the “Where To Find
The Best Empanadas In Buenos Aires” chapter.

22:00

Enjoy some of Palermo’s bars and nightlife.

After
dinner, we suggest you take some night walks through Palermo to get a glimpse
of this beautiful neighborhood at night.

Palermo
is a huge neighborhood divided into
different sections: Palermo Viejo, Palermo Chico,
and Palermo Hollywood are the primary
ones. For this night tour, we suggest starting at Palermo Viejo and its beautiful streets and bars.

Begin
at Shangai Dragon (1197 Aráoz
Street), a beautiful bar with oriental
decoration that serves lots of different craft beers.

After enjoying a beer or two at Shangai Dragon,we suggest walking through Plaza Serrano, the main square and center of Palermo Viejo, and its amazing little alleys. You’ll find dozens of bars next to Plaza Serrano, but they’re mostly tourist traps, with nothing special to offer but extremely high prices. But just a couple of blocks away you can find a hidden treasure: Soria Bar (5151 Gorriti Street). This bar has a huge garden on which you’ll find yourself very comfortable, and it’s usually full of people from all around the world who you can talk to about your experience in Buenos Aires so far. The beers are ordinary, they only have the famous brands, but drinks are very well done and cheap.

In case
you still have some energy in you and want to hang around a little longer, you
can keep walking through Gorriti Street
towards Palermo Hollywood. Its name
is because most television channels and
film studios are located on those streets, so don’t be surprised if you find
some famous actors at bars in this area.
Here we recommend the bar Carnal
(5511 Niceto Vega Avenue). In case you’re still up for some serious party, you
have Niceto Club right across the
street. This club is open until 6 AM with some of the best new alternative
music scenes: live bands perform until 3
AM, and after that, the night is
completed with DJ sets.

2nd Day in Buenos Aires – Map

Below
you will find the maps corresponding to all the different activities that we
recommend for your second day in Buenos Aires. They are accessible in Google
Maps format for you to easily use on your smartphone or tablet while you are in
Buenos Aires.

We’ve
divided this day into two different maps:
one corresponds to your time itinerary
(La Boca, San Telmo, and Puerto Madero),
and the second one corresponds to your night plan
(Palermo at night).

ZoomTip 2.1: Information on Buenos Aires Modern Arts Museum

Buenos Aires Modern Arts Museum (http://museomoderno.net/) (usually referred as MOMBA)
opened on 1956 and has been one of the most important museums of the city ever
since, along with the famous MALBA (Latin
American Arts Museum of Buenos Aires). Entrance is 30 pesos and free for
students.

It includes over 6.000 works, including Antonio Berni, Josef Albers, Wassily Kandinsky and Marta Minujín, among many others.

3rd Day In Buenos Aires – Itinerary

09:00

Check out from the hotel, deposit your
luggage there and go to Teatro Colón

We
suggest you start your last day at Buenos Aires with a visit to the historical Colón Theatre. This mythical place is
considered as one of the best theaters in
the world, and once you enter the theater,
you will understand why immediately.

Take
the guided tour that begins every 15 minutes. See ZoomTip 3.1 for more information about the Colón Theatre.

Cost:Colón Theatre Tour 13€

11:00

Take the metro and head to the Chinese neighborhood in
Belgrano.

After a visit to the historical Colón Theatre, we suggest you to continue the day going to the Chinese neighborhood. As any other Chinatown, you will find lots of interesting things and beautifully decorated streets.

After this, you can take a little walk around the Belgrano neighborhood, where you will find some beautiful architecture (walk a bit through Cabildo Avenue), and you’ll see lots of typical porteños through their routines. If you’re a football fan, here you’re close to El Monumental, which is River Plate’s stadium. River Plate and Boca Juniors are the two most important football teams in Argentina by far; and El Monumental is the biggest football stadium in the nation and is the home of the Argentinian National Team, even though La Bombonera is more famous due to its history and its original design.

You can
have something for lunch here at Belgrano neighborhood if you’re hungry. There
are dozens of different places to eat you will come across while walking
around.

12:30

Take a walk through the Palermo Forests

The immense neighborhood of Palermo has a vast area of beautiful forests for you to enjoy. We recommend starting at the Jardín Japonés (Japanese Garden), which is a gorgeous space full of life. It is one of the largest Japanese gardens of its type outside of Japan. The price of entrance is only 5€.

After your visit to the Japanese Garden, continue walking through the forests and go to Galileo Galilei Planetarium. If you choose to enter the place, you can see a piece of lunar rock or 100 million years old sea life fossils, among many other things. If you’re not that interested, you can simply walk around the beautiful surrounding park.

Cost:Japanese Garden
Entrance 5€

16:00

Visit Recoleta neighborhood.

We recommend you spend your last few hours of your trip to Buenos Aires here at the beautiful Recoleta neighborhood. Probably the most European part of the city: people usually find some great similarities to Paris.

The
most significant spot of the neighborhood
is the Recoleta Cemetery. Go there to visit this world wide famous museum,
considered as one of the most beautiful and best cemeteries in the world by BBC
or CNN, among others.

Some of the most notable interments at this cemetery are Eva Perón, writers Adolfo Bioy Casares and Victoria Ocampo, and Presidents of Argentina Arturo Illia, Bartolomé Mitre, Carlos Pellegrini, Domingo Sarmiento, Julio Roca and Leandro Alem, among many others.

Take a
walk around this beautiful neighborhood, have some coffee at one of its
gorgeous cafés and think about how amazing your three-days at Buenos Aires stay has been before you leave
home.

18:00

Take your luggage and head to the airport.

3d Day in Buenos Aires – Map

Below you will find the map corresponding to all the different activities that we recommend for your second day in Buenos Aires. They are accessible in Google Maps format for you to easily use on your smartphone or tablet while you are in Buenos Aires.

ZoomTip 3.1: Colón Theatre

The Colón Theatre is the main opera house
in Buenos Aires. It is currently ranked as the 3rd best opera house
in the whole world by National Geographic, and also considered among the best
five in the world regarding acoustic.

The original theater opened in 1857 and was replaced by a new theater that took a 20-years construction and opened in 1908.

Where to Find the Best Empanadas in Buenos Aires

If you’re in Buenos Aires and feel like eating empanadas, you will find some every 100 meters. Even though most of them are usually pretty good, here we give you a list of the best among the best places for you to try this delicious Argentinian famous food.

Typical
place on which you’ll find a public radio
playing in the background and mostly old
every-day customers at the tables. We recommend the ones of spicy meat, ham and
cheese and blue cheese, but all of them
are good.

Opened in 1935, this place considers itself as “the Queen of Empanadas” (a statement you can even read on its walls). The type of empanadas that they offer here is salteñas, which means they are made in the style of Salta, a northern province of Argentina.

Apart
from the amazing empanadas, a visit to this place is worth also because of the
walls decoration: it’s like a retro pop collection. You’ll find everything from
40’s magazines to little toys from that era.

Useful Spanish Phrases

Even though
Argentinians who deal with tourism usually
speak some English, we suggest you learn
some Spanish words before you head to Argentina, just in case.